Learning to Think: Thinking to Learn - Aysin Alp's Blog

61 Pages·2004·1.65 MB·English

Learning to Think:
Thinking to Learn

Lesley Dodd – 2004
Learning to Think: Thinking to Learn

Introduction

The Brain

Much of what we understand about how the brain works has been discovered
during the last ten years. Advanced scanning technology has enabled neuro –
scientists to detect and analyse the parts of the brain that are active during
thinking and learning. We can put this knowledge to good use to improve
learning and teaching in our classrooms.

How do the different parts of the brain work together to help
us to learn?

The Brainstem

This is the most primitive part of our brain. It regulates basic life functions
such as breathing, and controls our reactions and movements. It keeps our
bodies running as they should, and ensures survival. Under stress, the
brainstem tells us to fight, to run away or to freeze. If we feel stress when we
are learning, the Brainstem can slow down our learning. It is sometimes called
The Reptilian Brain and cannot be said to think or learn.

The Neo Cortex

The top layers of our brain allow us to think rationally and to solve problems.
We achieve higher levels of thinking using this part of the brain. This ‘thinking’
brain evolved over millions of years and grew from our emotional brain, the
Limbic System.

The Limbic System

This is the emotional and long-term memory part of our brain. We are good
learners, and can remember things well, when we can use our emotions as
we learn.
When we are comfortable, at ease and relaxed we can learn!
To maximise learning capacity we need to provide a calm and secure
environment within which we can create degrees of challenge. We can then
use our ‘thinking brains’ more effectively.

The Brain Needs Fuel

• The brain uses over 20% of the body’s oxygen.
• It requires water, rest and protein.
• When we sit down for long periods of time, the brain is not as efficient
because we use less oxygen.
• If we haven’t had anything to eat or drink for a long period of time we run
out of fuel, and learning becomes difficult.

If we have to sit for a long time in lessons and we are thirsty or hungry, we will
be inefficient learners.

Brain-based Learning

The neo cortex, the thinking brain, is divided into left and right hemispheres.
We use both sides of the brain to a greater or lesser extent in virtually all
activities. Some people however, use one side of the brain more than the
other.
The logical left hemisphere helps us with language, number and logic,
sequencing, writing, reading and fine detail. The creative right hemisphere
helps us to visualise, to see patterns, images and pictures and to appreciate
music, art and design. Although the two sides operate in different ways we
should aim to connect the hemispheres. If we can learn in variety of ways, we
can retrieve information easily when we need to. The brain enjoys multi-
sensory simultaneous input!

Information that has been received, processed and stored in a variety of ways
is much more likely to be retrieved when we need it! Learning is best done
when a balance of multisensory approaches is used.
About Learning

The average concentration span for children is their chronological age plus
two minutes! Everyone learns more at the beginning of a lesson because
concentration is higher, and there is usually an element of anticipation…… If
we are asked to sit and listen for a long time we lose concentration, stop
learning and may misbehave.

If we are asked to concentrate for longer than we are capable, we stop
learning and sometimes misbehave!

Learning Styles

Everyone has a preferred learning style.

Some people like to see pictures and diagrams, moving images and colour.
These people are visual learners.

29% of people are visual learners.

Some people like to hear sounds and voices. These people are auditory
learners.

34% people are auditory learners.

Some people like to do things practically, move around and use touch to
learn. These people are kinaesthetic learners.

37% of people are kinaesthetic learners.

We all use a combination of these learning styles, but most of us prefer to
learn using only one or two of these ways. If we can learn to use both sides of
the neo cortex (whole brain learning), and use different learning styles, our
learning will improve.
See Appendix 1 for strategies to use with different styles of learning.

Giving the Brain a Workout - The Brain Gym

This is an effective way of improving the connections between both sides of
the brain. A series of different exercises can be done to link the left and right
hemispheres. The left side of the body is controlled by the right brain, and vice
versa. The exercises also improve blood flow to the brain and this supplies the
brain with oxygen. They are ideal to use in the classroom to refocus the
children and for relaxation and release.

Some exercises

Practice rolling your head in circles: slowly one way, then slowly the
other.

Pat your head with your right hand and rub your stomach with your left
hand, then swap round your hands and rub your head and pat your
stomach.

There is a long list of brain break activities like these in Appendix 2. Some of
them can be done with music.

Thinking skills

Research suggests that there is much we can do to help children to learn to
be better thinkers. When we talk about ‘thinking skills’ we are referring to
higher order thinking. This is more than just rote learning. Learning how, for
example, to spell a word for a weekly test does not require higher order
thinking – devising a strategy to help to remember how to spell the word does!

Children need to be able to judge, analyse and think critically. They also need
to think clearly and creatively and use information to solve problems. If we
allow them time to reflect on their tasks and to challenge ideas, they will be
able to deepen understanding.
Thinking skills teachers attempt to make children aware of their own thinking,
and show them strategies they can use in all areas of the curriculum.

We can:

1. Teach explicit strategies for learning.
2. Provide challenge and interest to motivate.
3. Encourage supportive collaboration.
4. Help them to think about their learning.

The National Curriculum lists five higher-order skills children should develop:

Information processing

The ability to locate and collect relevant information, to sort, classify,
sequence, compare and contrast.

Reasoning

The ability to give reasons for their opinions and actions, to draw inferences
and make deductions, to use precise language to explain what they think, and
to make judgements and decisions informed by reasons and/or evidence.

Enquiry

The ability to ask relevant questions, to pose and define problems, to plan
what to do and ways to research, to predict outcomes and anticipate
consequences and to test conclusions and improve ideas.

Creative thinking

The ability to generate and extend ideas, to suggest hypotheses, to apply
imagination, and to look for alternative innovative outcomes.
Evaluation

The ability to evaluate information, to judge and value what they read, hear
and do, to develop criteria for judging the value of their own and others’ work
or ideas, and to have confidence in their judgements.

We can strive to create a learning environment which will stimulate the
development of these mental processes, and plan to infuse them in lessons
throughout all areas of the curriculum.

We can attempt to make our children conscious of their thinking and we can
show them strategies to use in all their learning.

The Thinking Classroom

The strategies described here will enable teachers to address the higher-order
skills described in the National Curriculum, and can be used throughout the
curriculum.

Questioning

The thinking classroom can be a place where children ask questions as well
as give answers. Skilled questioning can generate high-level thinking and
discussion, and also provide an excellent model for children so that they can
adopt self-questioning strategies. Allowing time for reflection and providing
opportunities for discussion also contributes to the thinking process.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who
developed a classification of intellectual behaviour important to learning.

Bloom found that 95% of test questions encountered by pupils required them
to think only at the lowest possible level…the recall of information.
He identified six levels within the cognitive domain, and created a taxonomy
for categorising the level of abstraction of questions that commonly occur in
educational settings.

His taxonomy is useful to us because, it allows us to determine the levels and
the quality of the questions we can use with our children.
The Levels of abstraction of questions

High

EVALUATION

• Judge
• Evaluate
• Recommend
• Justify
• Question

Example – Is there a better solution to…?

High

SYNTHESIS

• Compose
• Invent
• Predict
• Create

Example – What would happen if…?

High

ANALYSIS

• Compare
• Infer
• Contrast

Example – If,,, happened what might the ending have been?
Middle

APPLICATION

• Report
• Demonstrate
• Complete

Example – What questions would you ask of…?

Low

KNOWLEDGE and COMPREHENSION

• Describe
• Retell
• Name
• Locate

Examples What happened after…?
What do you think could happen next…?

More information on questioning can be found in Appendix 3 –
Questioning Techniques to Develop Comprehension.

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a powerful thinking tool. It is a graphical technique that
mirrors the way the brain works, and was invented by Tony Buzan. Mind
mapping helps to make thinking visible.

Most people make notes using lined paper and blue or black ink. Making
notes more attractive to the brain by adding colour and rhythm can aid the
learning process, and can help to make learning fun.